Invisible Chains (22 page)

•  Protection services: similar to those offered to victims of domestic violence;

•  Shelter: emergency shelter, assisted living, or independent housing;

•  Health services: short, medium, or long term, including access to public health care, mental health care, detoxification and addiction recovery services, and long-term counselling;

•  Legal services: information and representation;

•  Economic services: income support, access to education, training and skill development, language training, and help in finding employment.

Protecting victims from further abuse

Physically protecting human trafficking victims from threats and reprisals by traffickers is difficult. Police officers in several Canadian cities have expressed concern at the lack of protective services for trafficked persons who serve as informants and witnesses against their traffickers.

Even if victims come forward and tell the police what happened to them, the case is far from over. Due to post-traumatic stress, fear, or
direct threats from their abusers, victims may be unwilling or unable to testify in court. After providing police with a statement, victims are subject to intimidation by traffickers. One young woman controlled by North Preston's Finest faced threats from multiple gang members and thus recanted her statement, claiming the police had forced her to accuse them.

“We have to keep the pimp and their associates away from our victim,” says one officer associated with these cases. “The biggest part of what we do is victim maintenance through constant contact. We have to fill a void. They're used to checking in every hour. Take that away from them, and they don't even know what to wear. Their pimps used to do that.”

Offering protection to victims is more complex than it may first appear. Where should they be housed? Who will pay for protective custody? In cases involving organized crime, an array of support programs ensures that witnesses are not subject to retaliation. “The victim witness protection program protects drug dealers and murderers,” says one detective engaged in investigating sex crimes. “Surely we can use the same funds to help victims of human trafficking.”

Safe houses

Not all foreign victims of human trafficking want to stay in Canada. Under Articles 6(3)(a) and 8 of the
Palermo Protocol,
Canada should provide appropriate housing for these victims and work with their home countries to facilitate their voluntary repatriation. In reality, accommodation for foreign and domestic trafficked persons in Canada is a patchwork of non-governmental and governmental options, most of them underfunded and understaffed. They also range widely in capacity, level of staff training, resources, and ability to provide long-term support versus meeting short-term needs. Some facilities accept both men and women, a practice that is not suitable for victims seeking to recover from their ordeals. Concerns arise too about cultural appropriateness, language skills
and translation difficulties, as well as immigration issues, which not all organizations have the training to address.

Most women's shelters and transition houses feel their mandate is to provide safe housing for victims of domestic violence, not services for trafficked persons. Moreover, the few non-governmental agencies that are interested in offering housing for victims of trafficking receive little or no funding from most provincial governments for this specialized service. Without a safe place to stay that meets their individual needs, victims of trafficking are being set up for further exploitation. There are, however, some pioneering NGOs that are beginning to provide beds for trafficking victims—often for the first safe night's sleep the victims have had in years.

Recovering from the trauma: Health care and counselling

Since 2006, foreign trafficking victims who are issued a TRP have access to the Interim Federal Health Program, a rudimentary medical insurance program that ensures refugees receive essential medical care: basic and emergency health services, emergency dental treatment, contraception, prenatal and obstetrical care, essential prescription medications, and covers costs related to the Immigration Medical Examination. TRP holders who can pay for their own health care or are insured by a private or public plan are not eligible for the IFHP.

When Thérèse, the long-term trafficking victim from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, received her TRP, she had difficulty getting health care to cover psychological counselling. Citizenship and Immigration Canada's TRP manual now states that in the case of trafficking victims, some psychological counselling “may be considered ‘urgent and essential.'”

Unfortunately, the manual also recommends that officers grant health care coverage to TRP holders only for the initial six-month “reflection period.” After that, they must rely on benevolent NGOs. This is likely inadequate for many foreign trafficking victims with significant health care and counselling needs. By appealing to the CIC headquarters in Ottawa, immigration officials in Quebec have
received approval to extend health care coverage for longer-term TRP holders who don't fall under provincial health care.

Foreign trafficking victims who are covered by some other legitimate immigration status (i.e., visitor or student visas) may be ineligible for TRPs and their associated health care coverage. For example, OCTIP has had to pay for emergency dental care for a trafficked woman who didn't hold a TRP. Across Canada, many organizations are dedicated to helping vulnerable women, including victims of trafficking, but these groups are not everywhere and they usually have limited funds. Clearly, trafficked persons whose legitimate immigration status excludes a TRP need to be eligible for assistance. Furthermore, provincial governments must give allowances to victims who are Canadian citizens and permanent residents; that way, they can access services even if they're not fully registered under provincial health care at the time they're rescued or escape. After all, the victims' traffickers did not grant them the luxury of maintaining their paperwork.

A voice for victims: Advice and representation

Navigating the immigration and legal issues that may be involved in a trafficking case, especially one involving foreign nationals, isn't a simple exercise. A person fluent in English or French easily can spend a full day researching how to apply for a TRP, what benefits are involved, how long the assistance lasts, and so on. Imagine how much longer it would take a victim of human trafficking who barely speaks either of Canada's official languages. Much of our legal system is virtually unnavigable without the help of a lawyer, and the difficulties are especially pronounced for trafficking victims.

Whether they're applying for TRPs or victim compensation, trafficked persons need access to legal information and representation. Provincial legal aid programs must ensure that trafficking victims qualify for support in the TRP application process, as witnesses in criminal proceedings, and as victims of crime seeking compensation or in lawsuits for civil damages against their traffickers. A lawyer can also ensure that the victim's rights to privacy are respected in public
records. If an immigration official rejects a TRP application from an alleged foreign trafficking victim, the victim has little recourse without the assistance of a lawyer. Pro bono lawyers partnering with NGOs can play an important role in raising awareness about the various legal issues that trafficking victims are likely to encounter. For example, Covenant House in Vancouver provides a free, and confidential, daily lawyer consultation service.

Unfortunately, only a small fraction of human trafficking victims have been able to obtain free legal advice and representation—just 7 percent of foreign trafficking TRP applicants between 2006 and 2008 have arrived at CIC through a lawyer.

A better future: Financial security for survivors

Survivors of human trafficking need immediate financial support to meet basic needs and help reclaim their independence. In the longer term, they may also need education and training to become financially secure and find gainful employment.

For Canadian victims, welfare and income support may be available, although it frequently will be inadequate. Years of being exploited have taken the place of school and job training, so it can be difficult for trafficked persons to support themselves and move on with their lives.

Income support is available for those foreign trafficking victims who've made refugee claims, but the rest generally have no access unless they live in one of the few provinces that have recognized this gap and recently changed their policies.

In 2008, officials in Alberta realized that provincial programs were ill-equipped to meet the needs of trafficking victims like Thérèse. Fortunately, however, strong advocates from NGOs and understanding public servants with Alberta Employment and Immigration secured a special policy for providing income support to victims of trafficking. The new policy recognizes that victims with TRPs are eligible to receive income support for the duration of their permits, including any extensions and renewals.

British Columbia also extended its refugee income support to TRP holders through a regulation change in 2008. This brought the province's income assistance policies for TRP holders into line with their policy for refugees, which waives the normal three-week waiting period for income assistance. Thus, trafficked persons in British Columbia with TRPs are now eligible for income assistance.

Finding stable employment is another step in the recovery process. Since 2007, foreign trafficking victims who hold TRPs can obtain work permits, and immigration officers are required to present this option to TRP applicants. Some NGOs also offer training programs and educational initiatives. The Salvation Army's Florence Booth House, for example, has a partnership with Hertzen College, which helps train women in information technology and pharmaceutical practice. Diane Redsky and Jackie Anderson, who run the Little Sisters safe house in Winnipeg, stress the need for training and education for Aboriginal girls as they “age out” of the child protection system, meaning on their eighteenth birthday they are no longer allowed to stay. For some Aboriginal girls in the system, turning eighteen is not cause for celebration but a terrifying milestone after which they fear they will be left to fend for themselves.

A new life for Thérèse

Six months after her courageous escape from her traffickers, Thérèse began a new life in Canada. The Alberta government is providing her with income support and she has some help in the community through immigrants from her home country. She's also learning to speak English.

What's next for Thérèse? Hers is an inspiring story of renewal for others who manage to escape exploitation. The provincial government has promised Thérèse five hundred dollars this year, a small amount, to help upgrade her education and skills. Once she finds a job, her first paycheque will represent more than money to meet her basic needs—it will start to restore her dignity.

13

FROM AVERAGE JOES TO AVERAGE JOHNS

S
ean's request to the escort agency was simple: He asked for a woman to be sent to his Toronto hotel room. He didn't plan on cruising the streets, and wanted to avoid the tackiness of having sex in a car. This way he'd discreetly have an hour with a woman he'd never met—and who'd ever find out?

The person who arrived at his hotel room door was young. In fact, she was fifteen at most, and delivered by a couple of burly men who kept her under their control. When Sean was alone with the girl, she extended her small hand and nervously gave him a folded bit of paper. It contained just two words:
Help me.

Sean reacted swiftly. By his own account, he “got the hell out of there,” leaving the young girl to be found by her handlers. For whatever reason—the shock brought on by the girl's plea, or the shattering of the myth that paying for sex was a victimless crime—he'd lost interest.

Once out of the hotel, Sean had to tell someone what had happened, but he didn't want to make himself known to the police. Instead, he told the story of the frightened little girl to his friend Chris. The girl had begged Sean to save her. And he hadn't.

Chris could hardly believe the story and his friend's refusal to act. Well, if Sean wouldn't get involved, Chris would. He called Crime Stoppers and gave the operator the details of Sean's experience, including the name of the escort agency. Crime Stoppers relayed the
information to the Toronto Police Service, which recognized the name of the individual associated with the agency's telephone number, a man already known to be running a prostitution ring.

A police officer called the escort agency, posing as a potential client looking for a young Asian girl and hoping that the girl who had been brought to Sean's hotel room would arrive in the company of her traffickers.

Detective Sergeant Mike Hamel of the Toronto Police Service, Sex Crimes Unit, picks up the story. “We had the phone number of the escort service he called, so we set it all up,” Hamel recalls. “We were hoping the same thing would happen, but we got an older female. We ran into problems.”

Lacking first-hand evidence of an underage girl being sold for sex, the officers had no choice but to rely on a statement from Sean. With that in hand, the police likely could obtain search warrants to investigate the escort agency and try to find the terrified girl.

However, the refusal of Sean to contact police meant that the investigation could proceed no further, and the young girl who'd appealed for help almost certainly would continue to be sexually abused.

“We never found her,” says Detective Sergeant Hamel with sadness in his voice. “We go from one fire to the next. To me, that's not good enough.”

Escort agencies: Selling sex through thinly veiled language

Escort agencies represent the twenty-first-century evolution of nineteenth-century brothels. The only difference is location; instead of choosing women and rooms within the same establishment, johns now determine the environment, usually a hotel or motel room.